Nostalgic Handmade | Water Based

It's been some time since I've reviewed pomades and in truth, I felt very little motivation to do so -- well, at least until Dave released this little baby right here. If you guys don't know, Dave Leslie is a huge supporter in the pomade community and once upon a time, reviewed pomades just like me. He's also a close friend of Zachary of Shear Revival and Clayton of O'Douds, which had led to the release of their collaborative pomade, 3. Now, he's released his own line of pomades, Nostalgic Handmade.

Not only has their appearances been highly regarded but also, the product itself has received a lot of good feedback, and I hear the scent is reason enough to try the product out. So, today we will be trying out his new Water Based.

Design

The jars are very beautifully design. In truth, I never owned a Nintendo system in my entire life, but I do remembered going to my neighbor's house every day as a young boy to play on his console. It doesn't take much for the nostalgia to kick in after seeing this design work. Fuck. Throwback. You got four solid ounces of pomade in this jar, and for the first time we've seen on this blog, someone has departed from the norm and chose a plastic purple jar. Simply put, it is a lovely jar and the vibrant colors (in combination is good printing) make it pop. There's also some color noise in the printing -- whether intended or not -- it works.

Scent

I don't think I've ever said this before. The scent alone should be enough to warrant trying this pomade out. It smells exactly like Fruit Loops or if your like my brother, Trix. And I mean exactly. There's a milky sweetness that is reminiscent of whole milk. Oh man, I used to be able to drink that good WHOLE milk -- now I'm getting old and drinking that shitty non-fat. Then there's an artificial citrus scent that alludes to the Fruit Loops. I'm not joking. It's literally the scent of memories.

I'm not a fan of novelty scents, but this one. This one is amazing.

Consistency

It unexpectedly had a very thick consistency. Nothing that would hinder your ability to scoop some out of the jar though. It actually made me very hopeful because this hinted that the pomade would give me good hold.

Application

The pomade breaks down real soft. It reminded me a lot of the old Crystal Lake. Basically, right now, I see two schools of water-based pomades -- there are the ones like O'Douds WB or Flagship Black Ship and then there are the ones like Shear Revival Crystal Lake. This one would fall into the latter.

Shine

The shine is actually just where I like it. It has a presence but is still quiet. I prefer the shine to sit somewhere around here between neutral and quietly present.

Slickness

This is the first slick product I've seen in a while. I was excited to finally get a haircut and go back to styling it clean. The interesting thing is that the Water Based pomade products just enough slickness to style a slick pomp. But there's an interesting dryness and in combination with the shine, it can be used to style a loose pomp. It really depends on how you comb it.

Strength

I would definitely plop this pomade down as a medium. It may prove light to some of those with very thick or unruly hair; however, for me, it is literally a perfect medium. It provides hold without weighing it down much.

Control

Very good control. It's like someone took the newest formula of Crystal Lake and made it a lighter. This makes it a lighter and easier product to work with -- forcing the user to use his or her handiwork. Also, thankfully making it impossible to style a head wedge.

Endurance

Despite being a light-ish medium, it did a much better job than I expected. I thought the product was going to just fall apart during the day, but it wasn't that bad at all. Yes, the new haircut lends extremely well to capture the aesthetics of messy hair. But either way, it never got super messy.

Restyleability

And even when I forced it to get messed up, it was very easy to restyle and work the pomp back up to a reputable shape. In fact, the product dried out in a way, which make it even easier to work with.

Hardness

Never hardens at all.

Greasiness

Unlike a lot of the other water-based pomades, this one doesn't get greasy and stays clean. It's weird but many of the other water-based pomades still have a greasiness that is a byproduct of their slickness. I think the use of mango butter here allows it to be slick without being greasy.

Washing

Removes in one wash.

Conclusion

I would highly recommend adding this pomade to your list of things to pick up ASAP. Nostalgic Handmade is also a very small business right now, so don't be surprise if they're sold out by the time you've read this review -- especially, if you're a few days late. Nostalgic Handmade Water Based is a pomade that captures the lightness and superb control of the old Crystal Lake but without the greasiness. The smell, design, and every other characteristic packages into a clean pomade that is topped off with a very low price.

If you're interested, we also got you all a promo code THEPOMP for a discount on their pomades. Click below to find out more information about this pomade and Dave's new company.